If you are in a relationship that has never had a problem of any kind, then congratulations. However, for most of us relationships have their highs and lows. With that in mind, here are some things you can do to make things better.

1. Wait – You need to give yourself time to calm down after a breakup, and your ex needs time too. If you try too soon to plead your case for getting back together then you run the risk of pushing your ex farther away from you. Your emotions are running too high to use the right approach, and their emotions are running too high to be receptive. Your best bet is to wait.

2. Think – During your time apart you should think about what went wrong in your relationship. What things led to the breakup? Could they have been avoided? You need to do more than just scratch the surface here, you have to get down to source of the problems that caused the breakup.

3. Solve – Now that you have a handle on the problems, you can start to come up with possible solutions. You aren’t talking to your ex yet, so you will have to do this part by yourself. However, once the two of you start talking, be sure that you ask for input from your ex as well.

4. Plan – You have given it some time, have thought things through, and even came up with a few possible solutions, so now it’s time to make a plan for getting back together. What that plan is will depend on you and your ex, and on what problems you have uncovered. You may be able to get by without a plan, but you will find that having one makes things that much easier.

5. Talk – Hooray! You’ve made it this far, and now it’s time to take a big step: getting in touch with your ex. Your initial contact should be relatively low key because you don’t want to run the risk of scaring them off. The goal of this first contact is to set up a time and place where the two of you can talk face-to-face. Once you start talking, be sure to be friendly and respectful. Share the things you have come to realise but remember to take things slow.

6. Work – If your ex is willing to give your relationship another try, then be ready to do some work. There are sure to be obstacles along the way, but if you are committed to getting back together, then you can move beyond them.

These tips for fixing a broken relationship will get you off to a good start, but you need to actually do them.

Sure, it takes some effort, but it’s effort that will eventually make you happy.